As a musical synthesizer enthusiast, it gets me giddy like a child to announce Moog’s update to their Animoog iPad app. Adding lots of new features, the touchscreen synth now allows more freedom than ever in creating a textural electronic soundscape that’s reminiscent of the real, analog circuits from yesteryear.

Moog is a underpinning force in the electronic music world, creating analog synthesizers since the 1950s and later their digitally-advanced successors. This app captures some of their unique, classic sounds and usability, making it one of the most fun activities I’ve ever been exposed to on a tablet.

Among the addition of various polyphonic sound module emulators and effects processors, the update includes a vast supply of new sounds to access. The most impressive new feature is the app’s ability to modulate sounds in three-dimensional space, meaning that by tilting your iPad in various directions, the sound will react and be manipulated accordingly. Among adding a ‘hold’ feature to sustain notes, the app is newly MIDI-enabled, meaning that users can upload their own MIDI patch coding to utilize on the app. Function-wise, this translates to live synth orchestration becoming easier and involving a lot less equipment.

This app is potentially troublesome for me. I’m already foreseeing lots of time spent jamming the Animoog app that my time spent doing important tasks could be left undone. Messing with a Moog synth in real life is a bit unlikely and expensive. In the meantime, until I receive a ‘review unit’ from the company (wishful thinking,) I’m fine experimenting and creating sounds with this super-app. Great work, Moog; I highly recommend this app.